I have an ethical question about citing e-mail/internet sources...
 
        It seems to me that private e-mail would obviously require the
permission of the sender to be used as a source, as would any private/personal
communication.  But what about messages sent to a public discussion group like
this forum?  It would certainly be polite to ask first, but what if the
cited source is no longer a subscriber or otherwise unreachable via the 'net?
Are messages in this discussion group public domain?
 
Curiously yours,
Alasdair M. Brooks
 
PS - to salve my guilty conscience over a '95 SHA paper citation, would Mark
Staniforth please contact me at [log in to unmask] (I've lost your e-mail
address - sorry)